OpenTextFile method

  • Article

Opens a specified file and returns a TextStream object that can be used to read from, write to, or append to the file.

Syntax

object.OpenTextFile (filename, [ iomode, [ create, [ format ]]])

The OpenTextFile method has these parts:

Part Description
object Required. Always the name of a FileSystemObject.
filename Required. String expression that identifies the file to open.
iomode Optional. Indicates input/output mode. Can be one of three constants: ForReading, ForWriting, or ForAppending.
create Optional. Boolean value that indicates whether a new file can be created if the specified filename doesn't exist. The value is True if a new file is created; False if it isn't created. The default is False.
format Optional. One of three Tristate values used to indicate the format of the opened file. If omitted, the file is opened as ASCII.

Settings

The iomode argument can have any of the following settings:

Constant Value Description
ForReading 1 Open a file for reading only. You can't write to this file.
ForWriting 2 Open a file for writing only. Use this mode to replace an existing file with new data. You can't read from this file.
ForAppending 8 Open a file and write to the end of the file. You can't read from this file.

The format argument can have any of the following settings:

Constant Value Description
TristateUseDefault -2 Opens the file by using the system default.
TristateTrue -1 Opens the file as Unicode.
TristateFalse 0 Opens the file as ASCII.

Remarks

The following code illustrates the use of the OpenTextFile method to open a file for appending text:

Sub OpenTextFileTest
    Const ForReading = 1, ForWriting = 2, ForAppending = 8
    Const TristateUseDefault = -2, TristateTrue = -1, TristateFalse = 0
    Dim fs, f
    Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
    Set f = fs.OpenTextFile("c:\testfile.txt", ForAppending, True, TristateFalse)
    f.Write "Hello world!"
    f.Close
End Sub

See also

Support and feedback

Have questions or feedback about Office VBA or this documentation? Please see Office VBA support and feedback for guidance about the ways you can receive support and provide feedback.